1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to electrical connectors, and particularly to an electrical connector with a terminal assurance position member that assures a proper position of terminals of wiring harnesses to be installed into the electrical connector.
2. Background Art
An electrical connector is a core component used in many electric systems to connect wiring harnesses. Connectors are typically manufactured by a connector manufacturer, and thereafter supplied to a harness assembler to install wiring harnesses thereinto. The connectors attaching the wiring harnesses are further supplied to a downstream assembler to be installed into electric systems, combining with mating connectors.
A connector for a specific application, among other things, a connector for an automotive electric system, may include a terminal position assurance (TPA) member for installing the wiring harnesses. The TPA member is a piece to assure a proper position of terminals of the wiring harnesses relative to a housing of the connector. When the terminals of the wiring harnesses are inserted into the housing, detents disposed on the terminals may be elastically deformed due to interference with small protrusions disposed within the housing, and thereafter snap back to engage with the protrusions disposed within the housing. In this case, when the TPA member is inserted into the housing from, for example, a side surface of the housing, the TPA member may engage with edge portions of the terminals to restrain movement of the terminals. As a consequence of this, the position of the terminals of the wiring harnesses can be properly assured.
In recent years, some relatively large connectors have also been developed, which may be provided with several dozen terminals or poles. These terminals may be consolidated into one or more sub housings or sub connectors depending on various types thereof, such as optical fibers and electrical wires for communication and for power. The sub housing is fitted into a housing body, thereby resulting in a configuration of the connector. The sub housing and the housing body may include corresponding TPA members, respectively. The larger connectors with dozens of terminals typically require a greater force to combine with a mating connector. Accordingly, the larger connectors are generally provided with an insertion-assist mechanism, such as a lever mechanism, in order to reduce a necessary insertion force.
The connectors, which are manufactured by the connector manufacturer as discussed above, are supplied to the harness assembler as they are sets of assembly components, each of which is typically composed of a housing body with a lever, a sub housing, and a TPA member. The assembly components are assembled into connectors, installing wiring harnesses. In the process of assembling the connector with the lever, the wiring harnesses are inserted into the sub housing and fixed with the TPA member, and subsequently the resulting sub connector is installed into the housing body. All of the wiring harnesses are inserted, and thereafter the lever is set up at the predetermined position in order to combine with the mating connector.
In the conventional connector discussed above, however, it has been difficult to verify whether the sub housing is properly installed into the housing body. Accordingly, there has been a problem that the sub housing is not properly installed into the housing body, thereby resulting in deterioration in fundamental performance of the connector. This may include deterioration in reliability of connection.
Additionally, the TPA member inserted into the sub housing has been simply devoted to assuring a proper position of the wiring harnesses relative to the sub housing. Thus, the TPA member has not ultimately assured a proper position of the terminals of the wiring harnesses relative to the housing body. Accordingly, in a case where the sub housing is not installed properly into the housing body, the terminals of the wiring harnesses may be displaced. This may also cause the deterioration in the fundamental performance of the connector.